WSDOT

September 24 marks a year since the Aurora Bridge crash. That’s when a Ride the Ducks tourist vehicle broke an axle, crossed the center line and slammed into a bus of international students from North Seattle Community College. Five people died and dozens were injured.

The Alaskan Way Viaduct is back in operation after a closure that was supposed to last two weeks, but only lasted for a week and a bit.

It’s a surprise, and not the kind we are used to from Bertha, the tunnel borer that could, then couldn’t, and now apparently can. Bertha's bearings and seals were damaged early on, forcing the Seattle Tunnel Partners to haul it to the surface for a massive repair that completed just a few months ago.

People are able to drive part of the brand new 520 floating bridge Monday morning. The westbound lane is open after weeks of hype and an official ribbon cutting. But now there's an old bridge, and getting rid of that will be much less glamorous.

That's how one man described the new State Route 520 bridge, which opened to foot traffic over the weekend.

You may have heard that some people were stuck on the bridge, in a foot traffic jam, waiting an hour for a shuttle to scuttle them home. But most seemed OK with the situation. They bought food from food trucks and marveled that the bike lane will extend from the Arboretum to the Eastside.

Ross Reynolds speaks with civil engineer Steve Muench about the state of city and state-owned transportation infrastructure in Seattle. Also, John Buswell, road structures manager for the Seattle Department of Transportation, talks about the Fairview Avenue North bridge, Seattle's last remaining bridge built on timber supports.

She loves dirt and hates sunlight. Seattle Magazine named her one of 2013’s most influential people, except she’s not really a person. She’s Bertha, the world’s biggest tunnel boring machine, charged with digging out the replacement path for the Alaskan Way Viaduct under Seattle.

Her profile on the Washington State Department of Transportation site lists her occupation as a tunneling specialist, but right now she’s stuck and has been since December 6. In light of her current predicament, the decision to name the machine, and thus humanize it, could be a shrewd move.